National School Choice Week 2013 Is Underway [AUDIO]

It's National School Choice Week 2013, the world's largest celebration of education reform. The week will feature 3,500 independently planned events nationwide with the goal of raising awareness of the need to increase access to great schools for all children.

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"The week provides an opportunity for people to stand up and celebrate school choice where it exists and demand it where it doesn't. That means giving parents access to great public schools even if they're outside their district, public charter schools, access to private schools through tax credits, online learning, magnet schools and home schooling," said Andrew Campanella, President of National School Choice Week. "There will be roundtable discussions, rallies, meetings from the Statehouse to coffee houses from meeting rooms to living rooms."

"The reason we do this is that people across this country are crying out for more educational choices for their kids. No longer do we live in a country where it's ok to just send all kids to one type of school. We are in a global marketplace for jobs, people are graduating from high school and need to go to college for professional and technical jobs. They need to have the highest possible skills and abilities to get great jobs in the future," said Campanella. "So, we're talking about a fundamental transformation of our education system that is focused around choice and around kids."

The week will feature a cross-country, 14 city whistle-stop train tour for education reform. The National School Choice Week 'Special' left Los Angeles on January 25 and will arrive in New York on February 2.